1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method providing a textured finish and to textured articles produced by this method. More particularly, the invention relates to a method for application of a textured organic film-forming system as protection and decoration not only on flat surfaces, but also on surfaces with compound curvature, such as automobile tops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Known three-dimensional coatings include those with "random" patterns such as wrinkle finishes (produced by puckering an organic film former into a pattern of hills and valleys), "crackle" finishes (achieved by developing stress cracks in coatings) or "spatter" finishes (resulting from coarse spraying of secondary coatings onto a dry- or semi-dry-base coat).
It is also known to roll-form patterns onto planar sheets of plastic-coated materials with heat and pressure and then affix these sheets to desired surfaces by use of separate adhesives--e.g., the vinyl tops applied to automobiles. In many instances, such vinyl tops deteriorate faster than the automobile which they originally embellished, yet the remaining value and life of the automobiles do not justify the expense of replacing the vinyl coverings.
Further, it is known to apply fiberglass layers to boat hulls, automobile panels, etc., but here the objective is to provide a smooth surface--presence of the fiberglass filaments being obliterated by applied resin coatings rather than replicated by them.
Lastly, while not strictly applicable, in "arts and crafts" circles it is also known to fashion lampshades, for example, by affixing textiles to an open frame structure and then applying a clear resin to the textile to stiffen and protect it. Saturation and penetration of the textile are avoided, as these result in dripping at the inner surface. The open frame obviously gives support only at limited locations. If this is overcome by use of a temporary internal support (a balloon say), again saturation and penetration are to be avoided because adhesion ro the temporary support is undesirable and could ruin the product.
The foregoing methods are thus seen to be either expensive, or time-consuming, or not readily adapted to conformable application on non-planar surfaces having variable radius of curvature, or unpredictable as to the resulting patterns. Accordingly, there is need for a texturing method providing predictable patterns with a wide range of depth and type of texturing at low cost, little expenditure of time and without the use of separate adhesives.